5 Ways to Gain Weight in a Healthy Way

Most nutritional information provided tends to target those looking to lose weight, much neglected are those who want to gain weight. This will probably be targeted to those of you who have issues for a lack of appetite, want to fuel sporting activity, build muscle or overcome their natural skinny body type. So here are 5 points into how to gain weight… healthily.

1- Eat more meals

Eating 2-3 big meals a day is not so effective, even after that bloating feeling may trick you to think so. Well, this may work, but it isn’t the best route for your body. Why not try to double the amount of meals you have to around 5-6 and evenly spread them out throughout the day. This way you shouldn’t go for spells of longer than 4 hours without food. Consistently eating smaller meals will keep you satisfied and rid you of those stomachaches.

2- Increase calories

Sounds obvious, but actually put more effort into working this one out. Firstly, calculate your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR), this will help you see how many calories your body burns whilst resting, which in turn will allow you to calculate how many calories your body needs to maintain weight. Whatever this number is, add an extra 200 calories to your daily diet to begin with, then this can gradually increase to 500 calories.

3- Healthy fats

Fatty foods such as butter, high fat cheese and ice cream are fats you should stay away from. Again, off course you can increase weight by eating these, and have so much fun in doing so, but stick to the healthier fats. These can be found in Nuts, avocados, seeds and olive oil. A great tip to consume these is through shakes. For example, you could get yourself a blender and fill it with fruit mixed with nuts and soy milk, then enjoy the rewards and the taste (Warning, this should be altered if you have a nut allergy).

4- Foods that pack a punch

High in calorie food, but don’t go overboard. McDonalds and co will sure get you to gain weight. But probably not in the ideal places. Men mainly see fat growth in the gut area whilst women see it in their hips. Eating cleaner high calorie food will help you grow in the right places (and no boys… not there). Protein rich foods are the most beneficial, along with carbs found in rice and pasta. A protein shake is a much easier way to consume a large portion of your calorie intake whilst also giving you the necessary kick in protein intake too.

5- Weight training

This is the final point that needs to be coupled with the points above. When you are increasing your calorie you can’t just burn it all off through high intensity cardio training and expect to gain enough weight. Its best to lower the intensity of your cardio sessions, but the main point is to focus on strength training. Lifting weights whilst increasing the calorie count will help to grow muscle and as a result increase your weight and size.

Follow these 5 steps and you should be on track to achieve your target of gaining weight. The key point here is to make sure your diet is rich in calories. Shakes available online at IENstore will surely give you the right help you need. Just pop over an email to us and we would love to know